


Unwritten

by outofthesun



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Conquest Route, Conquest spoilers, F/M, Leo-centric - Freeform, Mild canon divergence, Moderate Depictions of Injury, Moderate Violence, Romance, dark in places, moderate gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 08:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10636491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outofthesun/pseuds/outofthesun
Summary: Leo and Sakura are soulmates, their destiny written on their arms ever since they reached adulthood. But Leo is all too aware that successful conquest hinges on those lines being unwritten - no matter the cost. Conquest spoilers, mild canon divergence.





	

**Author's Note:**

> In which everyone has the first thing their soulmate says to them written on their arm once they become adults. Unfortunately for Leo, his is definitively on the ominous side, and when he meets her at Fort Jinya, things only get worse.  
> tw: general dark parts people may find distressing, but not anything worse than what's in the game itself.

 

Nobody knows what’s written on Leo’s arm.

You might expect this to be a difficult feat to accomplish, but royal inscriptions are always treated with a certain degree of secrecy – otherwise all they’d ever hear was that sentence from people desperate for a royal soulmate, which would make their lives even more tedious.

But in Leo’s case, not even his own siblings – much less his own father – know what’s inked there in small, feminine script.

“ _Hurt me all you want, but don’t hurt them”_.

When it appeared, Leo didn’t emerge from his room for several days, much to the consternation of his older brother and sister. No matter how much Camilla pleaded or Xander ordered, he didn’t come out until he was sure he could adequately conceal the true extent of the turmoil going through his head.

Because although he wasn’t aware of quite how unfortunate a hand he’d been dealt at that juncture, he knew enough to work out that those words meant nothing good, and his siblings knew instinctively not to ask when he came out wearing nothing but long-sleeved clothes.

But despite how wretched his inscription has made him feel, a year passes, and when Corrin chooses Nohr, Leo isn’t there.

Instead, he’s fighting a horde of rogue Faceless on the southern end of the border, sent by his father as the dutiful second son, but the news still causes relief to flood through him like water to a man dying of thirst.

(The relief is tempered when Xander tells him exactly what Father’s intentions for Corrin are, and what they must do to stop him.)

But Leo and his siblings have turned eluding their father into an art form, and eventually he joins Corrin’s band in Cyrkensia, fighting a Hoshidan ambush at the opera house. What was supposed to be a night of at least some respite quickly derails into a messy fight that leaves all of them bloodied and bruised. Leo ends up carrying Elise to safety on his horse, and it’s difficult to keep focused when even she can’t stop the whimpers the ride prompts as her broken leg bumps against the saddle.

When Felicia sets it later, he holds her hand as tears trickle down her cheeks, the bone eventually mended. Elise obviously isn’t, though, because two hours later they all come running as she wakes screaming from the first of the nightmares.

* * *

 

As gruesome as it is, and despite how weary he’s beginning to feel, they make good progress, striking nearer the heart of Hoshido. The attack on Fort Jinya is crucial, though, and he knows that what remains of the Hoshidan army is certainly not going to go down without a fight. But something’s off, something unsettling, and it gnaws at him as they get into battle formation and begin their siege of the fort with Corrin at the helm.

Because Leo feels inexplicably different. It feels like there’s something physically pulling him towards the centre of the battlefield, and his sword swings through the air while Brynhildr creates new life only to almost take it away in the blink of an eye as vines emerge from the ground to pull their victims under it, ensnared and incapacitated per Corrin’s instructions.

And he catches a brief glimpse of the enemy commander, the young princess, and even though he can hear Corrin shouting he rides for her, suddenly unable to do anything else. She’s holed up in the remains of part of the fort, bow in hand and desperately trying to heal her soldiers from afar with what must be the Hoshidan variant of a staff, but at his approach she sets it aside to raise the bow, albeit with trembling hands.

“H-hurt me all you want, but d-don’t hurt them!” she yells, tears streaming down her face desperately, and it’s as if time itself freezes as his heart breaks.

Leo stares, shocked, and he has to swallow several times before he can make words come out of his mouth, which has gone as dry as a desert.

“Stand aside.” The words are harsh, but his face must be betraying him – hers does. She glances at her arm, the one not holding her bow, where undoubtedly in his own spiky hand those words are inked. Her eyes fill with understanding, sorrow, but to his surprise there isn’t any disappointment.

Almost questioningly, she raises her bow again.

Leo knocks her out with a pile of Brynhildr’s vines to the head.

* * *

 

“Leo? Leo!”

His siblings trail after him as he stalks away from the now-captured fort, even Corrin, who’s got a pretty nasty wound to the cheek which is dripping blood all over her cape. Elise looks torn between that and him, while Camilla and Xander merely look drawn in that way that he knows is concern, none of the blood on them theirs.

“Leo,” Corrin puffs, winded and tired but somehow still upright. “What’s the matter?”

“Yes, brother, speak.” Xander says, and it’s laced with the authority of the Crown Prince – the one that absolutely demands compliance.

“The princess – the Hoshidan princess, our prisoner,” he starts, and he has to look away briefly so as not to allow the emotion to overcome him. “She’s my soulmate. The reason I rode for her so viciously was because I felt as though something were physically tugging me towards her, almost like a magnet. I didn’t want to believe it, but the writing on both of our arms speaks nothing but the truth, and there the words are.”

Understanding blooms on each of the four faces before him in turn, and only on Elise does it turn into anything but dismay.

“That’s lovely, Leo!” she says, and if it weren’t spoken entirely without irony he’d have her head.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, darling.” Camilla says gently, and Leo wants to protest ‘bit’, but his older sister speaks again. “I think we should let Leo and Xander have a talk, dear. You too, Corrin – Elise can patch you up.”

Corrin nods, but presses her lips together. “Her name is Sakura, Leo.”

And as the three princesses step away, Leo turns to Xander, and everything suddenly comes crashing down on him – their father, Sakura, the whole invasion – and he weeps.

* * *

 

Despite recent events, it still has to be business as usual in camp. Leo carries out his duties on autopilot for a week, steadfastly avoiding the prison and keeping up a front so absolutely _no one_ can suspect anything more than a bad mood. Xander and Camilla hover, even Corrin does when she has the time, but eventually all of them realise that this is one matter he won’t budge on. Elise, however, is a different story, and one night in the mess hall she corners him.

“But she isn’t eating! I’m the healer, Leo, and she looks _awful_. All pinched.” Elise’s face is set to her trademark pout, which Leo sometimes finds endearing but right now only provokes irritation.

“What do you expect me to do?” he snaps over his plate of dodgy surf and turf. “In case your memory is failing you, I was the one that took her out! I hardly expect she’d want to see me, let alone be persuaded by anything I have to say on the subject of her behaviour.”

“She’s your soulmate!” Elise insists, and he nearly slaps her right there.

“Say it loud enough, why don’t you?!” he hisses, and it’s venomous enough that even Elise’s expression wilts slightly.

“Leo.” Xander says – a warning.

“…I’m sorry.” He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, willing the anger to dissipate. “Forgive me, Elise.”

“It’s all right.” She says tentatively. “I know it’s been weighing heavily on your mind. I thought you might feel better if you talked to her.”

“Did you say she isn’t eating, Elise?” Xander questions, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah, barely anything. And she throws up everything she’s putting in, which isn’t much.” His younger sister looks crestfallen. “I’m trying to help her, but at the same time I can sort of understand…”

“She isn’t speaking either.” Camilla adds, and her expression is stricken. “The poor darling.”

“…We have to keep in mind why we’re doing this.” Corrin murmurs quietly, and it strikes Leo that until then she’s been silent. “Sakura’s suffering won’t be in vain. I promise.”

And Leo sighs, knowing what he must do.

“I’ve been informed that you aren’t eating.” He says briskly as he walks in there an hour later.

True to Elise’s word, Sakura looks unnervingly gaunt. Her cheekbones protrude from her face like knives, and the healthy pink blush to her skin is gone; instead, she’s an unhealthy sort of chalky shade, dark circles under her eyes. She looks at him with a deadened sort of expression but he catches her picking at the delicate skin on her hands in an unsettlingly anxious fashion, as if even the simple interaction might tip her over the edge.

“I’m feeling u-unwell.” she tells him, and shockingly it’s without any sort of malice – she just sounds like she has a bad cold.

If only that were all it were.

“Well, I’m here to tell you that you have to, because – “ he sighs, takes a deep breath. “Look, we’re not trying to mistreat you. You’re making yourself sick, carrying on like this, and Elise has enough on her plate as it is with all the scrapes we’ve gotten into.” Sympathy filters into her expression at the mention of Elise, and it strikes him again how similar they are, how _young_ they both are. But where Elise is surrounded by family, Princess Sakura has no one.

“I am allowed to d-do what I wish.” She says, and it’s surprisingly stubborn. “Though I may be your prisoner, there are small things I still have. Perhaps it w-would be more convenient for you if I _were_ to s-starve, Prince Leo.”

Elise must have told her his name.

“That’s not true!” he snaps, and both of them look away from each other. In that moment, Leo is torn between strangling her and the other part of his biology that is desperate to care for her, to free her, to _love_ her-

Instead, he doesn’t move.

The room is heavy with all the things that they aren’t saying, and eventually it becomes so suffocating that Leo sighs and caves in, breaking the silence.

“No one knows about – well, us. I thought it best.”

Sakura gives a tiny smile, but her eyes glisten.

“It’s all right, Prince Leo. I understand,” And suddenly, her face shutters closed. “We must all make sacrifices for our country.”

“Yes.” He says as he turns to leave. “Yes, we must.”

* * *

 

He doesn’t visit her again, but Elise is smug nonetheless.

“She’s eating better now! And we’re talking, a bit. Not about anything important. But I still think it’s helping her, you know?” She pauses, and her next words are a little more cautious, tempered by the maturity she’s gained all too rapidly. “You could see her again, Leo, if you wanted to.”

“I don’t want to.” He answers curtly, keeping his eyes focused on the track ahead. While it’s strategically sound, the possibility of an ambush still isn’t eliminated, especially given their fortunes so far. “It would be a futile exercise, Elise. Her status in relation to me will not make Father spare her.”

Even though he point blank refuses to discuss it, with Elise or with Camilla when she tries an hour later, Sakura stays on his mind, through the trek and as they pitch camp (one comparatively mild bandit skirmish later). It makes him irritable and taciturn, barely speaking unless to give orders. Corrin looks drawn but knowing as she passes him on her way to her private quarters, and the invitation on her lips dies with the expression of pity she wears on her face.

But Leo, pragmatic as ever, turns his bad mood to his advantage, and by late evening he’s formulated a plan. Odin and Niles, summoned to his private chambers later than ever before and in their nightshirts to boot, both look slightly unnerved as he paces in front of them in full armour.

“I want you to take Princess Sakura and that royal tactician and ride to the royal estate in Macarath.” He instructs, and while Niles merely quirks an eyebrow, Odin is instantly spluttering.

“But, milord, the princess surely must be kept in the confines of her confinement, for as our time to triumph nears - ”

“No.” he cuts Odin off sharply, and it’s either that or the expression on his face, but neither the outlaw nor the sorcerer argue further. “Keep her under house arrest, but otherwise make sure she’s treated well. If I hear otherwise, you can count on my displeasure.” He pauses. “However, make sure that she’s aware that should she attempt to escape, she will be killed, and promptly so.”

“As you say, milord.” Niles says, and for him it’s unnervingly sincere. “We will ride at first light. Should I inform anyone else?”

“No.” Leo turns, his back to them. “Leave that to me.”

“You’ve sent her where?!” Xander says, his expression incredulous. “Leo, if Father becomes aware of this – “

“He won’t.” Leo replies, his eyes narrowed. “And in the unlikely event that he should, I will take responsibility. I will portray myself as a lovestruck fool should it benefit our cause.”

“Do you love her?”

“I can’t let myself love her.” He thumbs through Brynhildr’s pages, face in shadow. “It’s best that we’re apart, to minimise the pain on both sides. Until such time comes as loving her doesn’t cause diplomatic chaos, I will pretend that the inscription on my arm is invisible. For her sake, I hope she does the same.”

“Very well. I agree with your assessment.” Xander pinches his nose, and for all his stoicism, it strikes Leo how tired his older brother looks. “But, Leo, I would be cautious as to who you trust with this information.”

“Actually…” Leo sighs. “I was thinking we might just keep this between us. Tell the others Sakura has been transferred to another prison, which is technically true. It’s taking liberties, but it’s not actually a lie.”

“You would keep this from Corrin?”

“Corrin has enough to deal with.”

And Xander nods.

* * *

 

A lot of things happen after that, but for Leo, it all passes in a bit of a blur.

The long and short of it: once their father has been deposed and Xander sits on the throne, he sends Niles and Odin to release Sakura from house arrest in Macarath, alone. Apart from a small parcel of books, he sends nothing else.

Not even Elise asks if he wants to visit Sakura, and a month passes in their newfound uneasy peace wherein Leo gets on with rebuilding his country alongside Xander, all the while ignoring the script still written on his arm.

But it’s not something he can put off forever, and when Xander proposes (very delicately) the idea of a diplomatic trip to Hoshido, he doesn’t protest.

When he sees her, she’s wearing white, and he’s read enough of her culture to know that it’s a sign of mourning.

“Princess Sakura,” he bows in greeting. “Allow me to extend my condolences.”

“Th-thank you, Prince Leo.” She murmurs. The others have tactfully left them alone in the palace gardens, and their beauty is almost enough to distract – but not quite.

“I… couldn’t imagine losing Xander, or Camilla, or Elise. It pains me to think of how you must feel.” She looks pensive, fingering a strand of pink hair as she stares into the admittedly stunning Hoshidan spring gardens. It’s longer now, no longer a bob but instead a more adult chignon that’s beginning to come loose.

“It is hard. I see them everywhere – I see a talented samurai training on the plains and for a few moments it often seems like it could be Ryoma, swinging Raijinto again. Or I see someone play a good game of shogi, and I see Takumi, happy again and smilng, not like he was at the end.” She presses her lips together. “But it is only fair of me to acknowledge your loss, Prince Leo.” Briefly, she presses a hand to his arm, presumably in solidarity. “Your f-father. I am sorry.”

“No.” he says. “While I appreciate it, that man… wasn’t my father. Not for a long time.”

“You know,” Sakura says, her tone forcibly lighter. “I think, in another time, you would have liked Takumi. I know you found him quite reprehensible when you met, but… from your package I s-surmise that you like chess, and books. T-Takumi had similar interests.” Leo quirks an eyebrow.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He tells her, and she closes her eyes, obviously reminiscing, but eventually dredges up a tired smile from somewhere.

“Time heals all wounds.” The princess murmurs, almost to herself as both of them look at the garden’s newest feature – the large, elegant memorial that takes up a large swath of its centre.

“That it does.” He admits. “Unfortunately, I think for both of our countries there will undoubtedly be scars.” And he turns from her then, to face the beautiful cherry blossom tree that is her namesake. “For our countries, and for us.”

“Y-yes.” Sakura murmurs. “B-but even scars fade eventually, even if they don’t entirely disappear.”

He looks at her properly, then, searchingly, and she him.

“Prince Leo…” she wrings her hands in a worried sort of gesture. “I know it will take me a long time to reconcile myself with what Nohr has done, and I w-won’t apologise for that. But, I k-know that Xander and Hinoka are going to bring in a new age, even if it’s h-hard… I have h-hope for the future.” Sakura looks scared, but resolute. “And… I have hope for us.”

“Y-you do?” Stuttering is contagious, he decides, and flushes pink from embarrassment. “I mean, uh, I’m glad. That you do.” Tentatively, he takes one of her slight hands in his, the black words just visible under her kimono.

“I do, too, Sakura.”

_fin_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Leo/Sakura trash and this refused to leave me alone (I mentally wrote the plot for this while making coffee at work, lol).
> 
> I know Leo is a bit of a dick at first in this - he doesn't know what to do but he's also trying not to make either of them go through any more pain. I took his pragmatism to the nth degree because people's traits are always exaggerated when they're under pressure, and I always thought Leo was a big example of 'cruel to be kind', especially in the Birthright route.
> 
> I haven't shared my writing in a while, so please let me know what you think of this! :)


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